Monday, March 12, 2012

Tutorial: Painting Bird's Egg

Watching little birds build a nest in the wreath on my front door has me inspired by the arrival of the Spring. I invite you to create along with me.

1. Cut a piece of 200-thread count bleach muslin fabric and draw the outline of a bird's egg

2. Take your favorite brand of acrylic paints, and apply a base color of cream or warm white

3. Once the base coat is dry, paint a top coatto match the color of the bird's egg.

4. Once the top coat is dry, use white paint for highlightedareas and raw umber or indigo blue paint for shadowy areas.Build up each area with thin layers of paint and water, called a wash, to achieve a sense of depth.

5. Most bird eggs have spotted or streaked markings.One way to add subtle spotting to the egg is with a techniquecall spattering. Using a warm brown color, thin the paint down with water, dip a small stencil brush into the paint/water mixture then use a finger to bend the brush bristles toward the body and release.

*Be careful to cover and protect areas not to be spattered.

6. Add additional marks by using the side of the paint brush, a skewer, toothpick, and small dowels.

Traci, thank you so much for this tutorial! As I was raking leaves, I found three empty shells and was amazed that they survived the winter. My project for the day is to capture their beauty thanks to your tutorial. Wishing you a beautiful week.